The Monster Hunter
The Monster Hunter is a story by PrinceBalto. Premise This is a new idea I made up. Essentially, it's an AU were Nick and Judy, who are obviously going to be dating, work together at a special, secret facility in Zootopia meant to house various cryptids. Nick is the main hunter who goes out and brings back the creatures, while Judy primarily works in the facility's hydroponics lab, growing fruits and vegetables to feed the herbivorous creatures. While the facility already has several breeds of Bigfoot (several have been reported in real life), they seek to display the mainline Bigfoot species. To this end, Nick, his girlfriend Judy and their little team head out into the woods around Zootopia. in order to find one. However, once they are out there, they discover how aggressive their quarry can be. I portray the Bigfoot as a more aggressive animal, in order to make them more a threat. No one gets hurt though. In my take on Zootopia, the only mammals that didn't achieve sentience were marine mammals (except otters and Polar bears), all species of bats, and all species of primates (that goes for all of my continuities). Story is rated PG-13 for peril. Story Zootopia had its fair share of mysteries. The list was long and varied. From the blood orb of Sahara Square to the legend of the curse of King Mutt, a jackal who had ruled what is now Sahara Square thousands of years earlier, the stories had been passed down by mammals for many years. However, little did the mammals of Zootopia and the rest of the Kingdom of Mammalia know that some of these legends were actually real: Bigfoot, Chupacabra, Zootopia Devil, Yeti, Lake monsters and so on. Also secret from much of Zootopia was a very special facility hidden deep in the depths of the Forest District: CryptoLab, where specimens of these monsters were captured and placed in enclosures for study. Run by the Mammalian Institute of Science, it was the place that had confirmed that these beasts, so long spoken of as legends, were real. "All right, let's check on our beasts today," said a handsome charming voice. The voice belonged to a very handsome twenty-eight year old male Red fox. His name was Nick Wilde, and he was clad in a dark green collared shirt and matching dark green cargo shorts. He served as the organization's main monster hunter, and he was very good at what he did. Following him were the scientists and caretakers. Nick could remember catching a majority of these creatures. He had been involved with the organization for some years, at least since he had reached his mid-twenties. He looked into the acrylic front of one of the enclosures. This particular enclosure was kept dim for its inhabitant, an aggressive, quill-backed, red-eyed, bipedal Chupacabra, the deadly gargoyle-like beast of more tropical areas. He had captured it around a farm, where it had been killing chickens. Moving on, he came to a series of cages containing various breeds of Bigfoot, such as the Grassman. "If only we could get a specimen of the mainline Bigfoot species..." a male White rhino scientist said. Nick chuckled. "Oh, that's easy. All I have to do is go out to the woods. Give me enough time and I will catch one for you," he replied. Suddenly, there was a chuckle. "Oh, you really think it will be that easy?" a youthful, lovely, feminine voice answered. Nick turned to see a beautiful twenty-four year old grey and white female bunny with purple eyes, lithe body and curvaceous hips and rear, clad in a khaki collared shirt and matching khaki shorts, standing there. Her name was Judy Hopps, and she was Nick's girlfriend. She worked here too, primarily in the agricultural wing of this facility, which hydroponically grew fruits and vegetables to feed the herbivorous creatures, as well as raised chickens and turkeys for the predators. However, as Nick's girlfriend, she usually accompanied him on his missions. "Well, it looks like I might be going out soon to catch one," he told her. The scientists all smiled. A leopardess scientist looked at Nick. "Well, the heads of the lab have discussed this already, and we have an empty enclosure. It would be great to finally have what we seek. We can then study how they are different to the other breeds that we already have," she stated. Nick nodded. "Let me talk to the heads of the lab. I will see what they say," he replied. Judy listened intently. She loved going on missions with Nick and the rest of the team. Although it was a scientific mission that they were heading out on, she still saw it as an adventure. Oh, how she loved doing this kind of work. "Good luck, Nick," she said. Nick saluted. "Will do," he replied. Time passed, and Nick eventually found himself before the lab leadership. These were well-known scientists from the institute who had devoted themselves to the study of hidden creatures, or cryptozoology. With many of these creatures having been proven to exist, the field was growing, as a course on the matter had been established at the University of Zootopia and many books were being published. Nick looked at the assembled mammal scientists. "Well, I come before you all today to ask official permission to undertake a mission to the woods in order to find a Bigfoot of the mainline variety for our collection," he stated. The head scientist, a male wolf, looked at him. "This is something we have wanted to do for quite some time, Nick. However, our searches haven't turned up much. The mainline Bigfoot seems to be more elusive than the other breeds of its kind," he replied. Nick shook his head. "Most of my quarry is elusive. I have still found them. Trust me, this is worth it," he said. The wolf scientist chuckled. "Ah, Nick, always so optimistic. Very well, I give you permission. You know the usual routine of bringing a new specimen. Now, gather your team and supplies. You can leave soon," he said. Nick nodded and smiled. "Thank you, sir. I will get ready now," the fox answered. With that, he went to find Judy. He found the bunny returning from the hydroponics lab and smiled at her before pulling the lovely doe into a hug. They had been an item for some months now. She saw the excitement in his eyes. "What's going on, foxy?" she asked. Now it was Nick's turn to smile. "Get ready, because we are getting ready to go and bring in a Bigfoot," he replied. Judy felt a wave of excitement wash over her. She had been waiting for this sort of mission to come up. She hugged Nick tight. "Oh, Nick, this is so exciting!" she said cheerfully. Nick hugged her back. He was just as excited as she was. He had been on many hunting trips to bring back specimens for the lab, and he had hunted Bigfoots before, but the prospect of finally catching the mainline type was just too exciting for him. A few days went by. The team was assembled. The main part consisted of Nick and Judy, Nick's Fennec fox best friend, Finnick, who served as the main tracker, Finnick's pretty, white-furred, blue-eyed Arctic fox girlfriend Skye, who kept up with the chart of sightings, and Jason Stripeman, a male Bengal tiger who was both the driver and the head of security. Also coming with them was the wolf transport team. They also had their equipment, such as their tranquilizer guns, radios, guns for self-defense, a few first aid kits and other essentials. They also had camping equipment and food supplies. It was time to head out into the woods. "Here we go," Nick said. The team took off from the lab. Nick, Judy, Finnick, Skye and Jason rode in Nick's truck, while the wolf transport team followed close behind in their special vehicle, which towed the transport trailer behind it. If they succeeded, it was this vehicle that would be used to bring the Bigfoot back to the lab. For now, however, they would be setting up camp and reviewing the notes about their quarry. Skye was busy looking at a file about recent sightings in the area. "Looks there have been several nearby recently," she said. Nick was pleased. "Good. We might just succeed," he said. Eventually, night fell over the Zootopian area. The team all settled into their tents. Judy and Skye shared one tent, while Nick, Finnick and Jason shared another. The night was dark, giving an eerie sensation, as the only lights came from the camp. Sleeping peacefully through the night, no one noticed the huge shape entering the site. Suddenly, there was a growl as a huge hand ripped through the tent. Judy and Skye were jarred awake. They screamed loud, awakening the entire camp. Nick rushed over to the tent with Finnick and Jason. They saw a glimpse of the Bigfoot as it fled the scene due to the sounds. "That was it..." Nick thought. However, he quickly put it out of his mind as he rushed to check on Judy. He held the bunny close. He could see the fear in her eyes. "Don't worry, we are going to find it," he said. Nick glanced up at the sky. Dawn was just starting to break. Using a flashlight, Finnick was looking at the creature's footprints. They were just like numerous other Bigfoot footprints that he had seen during his time working at CryptoLab. Training in tracking, footprint identification and other matters were standard procedure in the lab, and Finnick excelled at it. His Fennec fox hearing also provided them with an advantage. Nick looked at everyone. "All right, everyone, gear up. The night is over, and we are on the trail. We head out shortly," he stated. Nick sighed and began to wonder what had prompted the Bigfoot to attack. They hadn't been provoking it. However, suddenly, a horrifying thought came to him: had it smelled Judy and was attempting to prey on her? "No..." he thought, trying to banish the thought. He then remembered that Bigfoots were omnivorous. While they did eat plants, they would also eat ground-dwelling birds like pheasants, as well as reptiles and frogs when they could catch them. He knew this from observing the other breeds. His heart was beating hard. "I am ready," Judy told him. After making sure that his girlfriend was all right, Nick prepared himself to attempt to get a sense of where the Bigfoot had gone. He turned to a technique that he had used before: wood knocking. According to the sighting reports, Bigfoots would often take small logs and knock them against a tree as a means of communication. Nick did exactly the same thing. The fox smacked the log against a nearby tree several times. Following that, he waited. Suddenly, the familiar Bigfoot call rang out over the woods as the sun continued to rise. He had his location. "We have our location. Come on," he said. Immediately, they all finished gathering their equipment and headed out. Nick clutched his tranquilizer gun, filled with darts containing the proper dose of sedative. They hadn't moved far from the trucks when they heard calls. Without warning, the plants around them rustled. Everyone gathered together. An instant later, the Bigfoot stepped out into the open. However, it didn't seem like it was about to attack. It glanced at them curiously. "Now, Nick," Judy said. Nick was ready. He raised his tranq gun and fired. The dart hit the Bigfoot and Nick made sure everyone moved back until the sedative took effect. He and the team had done it! They had a Bigfoot of the mainline breed. When the Bigfoot was knocked out, the wolves moved in to load it up. Judy looked at Nick. "Congratulations, Nick," she said. Nick chuckled. "Well, it was thanks to what happened earlier that we were able to find it," he answered. The trip back to the lab began. Nick couldn't wait to see the faces of the scientists. He knew that they were eager to get started studying the beast. Category:Zootopia AU Category:AU Fanfics Category:AU stories Category:Cryptozoology-themed stories Category:WildeHopps stories Category:NickXJudy Category:Oneshots Category:PrinceBalto fanon Category:PrinceBalto fanfics Category:PG-13 stories Category:Stories where Nick and Judy are dating Category:Stories where Judy is something other than a cop Category:Stories where Nick and/or Judy have different occupations than the movie Category:Adventure Category:Monster stories Category:Finnick/Skye Category:Finnye fics Category:Stories inspired by The Legend of Boggy Creek